Barter jerked. “You're pregnant? After Scorpius.”
Grey clipped him on the back of the head, anger rushing through him. “Shut up. You don't get to speak to her. Ever.”
Moe's pretty blue eyes softened. “Greyson.”
Yeah, he'd chosen her and the baby over revenge. Over his vow. At her small smile, she knew it. He nodded.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
The urge to touch her, to pull her close, almost overwhelmed him. But he turned to Jax. “Here's the deal. You get Barter, and I get another motorcycle.”
“You won't make it,” Jax said, almost gently. “It's too late.”
Grey frowned. “Too late for what?” They didn't know about the president and Damon.
“The fire,” Raze said, watching him closely. “The winds shifted this morning. You'll need air support to even have a minuscule chance of saving Merc territory. It's going to be gone by morning otherwise.”
Grey blinked. An invisible fist plowed into his solar plexus. His men. He'd given them orders to get to safety if they couldn't protect the homes. They'd listen. They had to. “I'm sorry to hear that.” His voice shocked him by remaining steady. “But I still need the motorcycle.”
Jax cocked his head to the side. “How'd you find Barter?”
Grey's lips pressed together.
Sami pressed closer. “What the hell did you do to my computer? What file did you take and why?” she asked, her aim level and straight at his chest. “Tell me, or I will shoot you.”
Greyson eyed the little hacker. Rumor had it she was a hell of a fighter but a truly shitty shot. “I'm tempted to take the chance, but I'd rather just level with you. There was a secured file, and we took it for the president.” He reached into his back pocket and drew out the folded paper holding the instructions. “This is what he said to do, and this is what we did. Don't know what's in the computer file, and neither did he. It was encrypted.”
She moved forward, gun steady, and took the paper.
Grey could kick the Glock from her hand, take her down, and pull back up with her blocking him. Then he could force Jax and Raze to drop their weapons if he put his arm around her neck. But Maureen was watching, and he kind of liked Sami Steel. So he took a step back, keeping his hand on Barter's shirt collar. “I'll try and get the computer file back,” he offered. “But I have to go now. Motorcycle?”
Jax grinned, the look almost feral. “Even if I wanted to give you one, your baby mama here shredded the wires to the garage door, and they're not repaired yet. I've been promised we'll be able to open the doors within the hour.”
Grey swung his gaze to Moe. “You did what?”
She bit her lip.
“Why?” he asked. Why would she sabotage Vanguard? Or the Bunker? He looked at Jax and then at Raze. Wait a minute. “You were coming after the Mercs. When the winds shifted, you decided to go after the medicine and weapons.” It's what he would've done. “And she stopped you.” He said the last quietly, turning toward her. His lips tickled, and he grinned. God, she was amazing. Fucking amazing. And his. “My girl,” he murmured.
A pretty blush covered her high cheekbones.
Raze made a gagging noise.
Grey cut him a look. “Your niece or nephew is gonna be my kid, you know.” If it survived.
Raze paled, but his gun hand remained steady. “Not if I blow out your brains,” he said conversationally.
“Raze.” Maureen turned and punched him in the arm. “Knock it off.”
Jax pierced Grey with a look. “So you traded a mysterious, buried computer file from here, one that might've held the secrets of Scorpius—or nuclear codes, or fucking anything—to the crazy-ass president in exchange for Zach Barter and the location of another Bunker.” Anger filtered across his face, darkening his skin. Then he visibly calmed. “Though you brought Barter here. To use his knowledge to save Maureen.”
Grey nodded. “Yep. I had planned to put a bullet between Barter's eyes to fulfill a buddy's deathbed request. But if he can help us, I can kill him later.”
“Not if I kill you now,” Jax returned.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Life was a hell of a lot easier when all I had to do was stand between bullets and people while returning fire. This whole getting to know them, liking them, really makes things difficult. Trust can get you killed.
—Jax Mercury, Journal
Jax's finger actually twitched on the trigger of his gun. Zach Barter. Right in front of him. The man who'd injected Lynne and almost killed her. Who'd made her heart blue. Who had purposefully spread the pandemic that had killed most of humankind. If anybody deserved a bullet to the brain, it was Barter.
Greyson watched Jax carefully, no doubt sharing those dark feelings.
But he was right. Barter might prove useful. If nothing else, then at least with information about the Bunker in Reno. “Can you cure Scorpius?” Jax asked him directly.
Barter swallowed, his throat moving. “We're on to something, but I don't have a cure yet.”
Maureen pushed to stand next to her brother. “What about for pregnant women? Do you have anything there?”
Barter looked her up and down. “The application of what we've been doing for Scorpius, with the concoctions of different B vitamins and some natural ingredients would apply to pregnant women.” His eyes started to gleam. “In fact, we needed pregnant women to test some of the possible cures on the fetuses, but we ran out.”
Jax's gut ached. The guy was all-out freaky and looked like a fucking movie star. “You've run out of pregnant women.”
“Yeah,” Barter said. “They keep miscarrying.”
Moe made a small sound of distress.
Grey smacked Barter on the back of the head again, and the scientist turned and glared. “Not from the tests, you moron. They're just vitamin B mixtures along with healthy alternatives. Of course, I'm available to repregnate our test subjects anytime.” Zach smiled as he finished speaking.
Lynne gasped. “Please tell me you haven't forced women to be experiments.”
Jax's spine snapped to attention. Had they experimented on women like they had with Marcus? “If you've been raping women as part of your experimentation, I'll kill you right now.” The Earth was better without Barter on it. For sure.
Barter sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course not. My Bunker has researchers in command, and there are rules. Nobody forces any test subjects.”
The guy could be lying, but Jax couldn't tell. Sociopaths were gifted at deception. “If I find out differently, you're dead.”
Barter paled.
Jax shifted his attention to Greyson, who didn't seem to mind that Sami still had a gun pointed at his head. He wanted to trust the Merc leader, but the guy didn't trust anybody else, so it was just getting harder to try. “How's the security at the Reno Bunker?”
“Good,” Greyson said. “I could get in by forcing a guard, but an all-out assault will be met with impressive resistance. The facility is underground, so explosives will be risky. And I assume there's a fail-safe.”
Barter nodded. “Yep. One button, and ca-blewy.”
What a dick. Jax's lips peeled back. “Then it's a good thing you're going to tell us absolutely everything you can about the Reno Bunker, isn't it?” They'd managed to take this Bunker, and they'd take the next one. Especially if it had better lab equipment and more data than Jax currently had on Scorpius.
Barter's gaze moved to Lynne again. “I'll tell you anything you want to know.” He smiled, all charm. “It'll be a pleasure to work with you again, Dr. Harmony. The caliber of other researchers in Reno doesn’t compare to either you or Dr. Medina.”
Lynne's breath caught. “Have you heard from Nora? Has your Bunker heard from them?”
Barter shook his head. “We had to keep my existence a secret, you know. But our scouts found an ex-member of the Brigade about a month ago, and he said they were going strong and still trying to save parts of the infrastructure.”
Jax's eyebrows rose. “Is that a fact?” The Brigade was led by Deke McDougall, and it had been an emergent task force type of unit when Scorpius descended. “Is the Brigade working with the president and his Elite Force?”
Barter shrugged. “It didn't seem like it, but I wasn't privy to the military discussions. The ex-Brigade member is still at my Bunker.”
Lynne turned to Jax. “We need to find him. Talk to him. Make sure Deke and Nora are still alive.” Hope filled her pretty green eyes.
Jax nodded. “We will, sweetheart. I promise.” Nora was Lynne's best friend, and Lynne had been worried since she’d arrived in Vanguard territory during the rainy season.
Grey shoved Barter toward Jax. “So. Zach Barter in exchange for a motorcycle, Jax. That's the deal.”
“Why?” Jax asked, sliding his gun into his holster. Raze or Sami could shoot Greyson if necessary. “You can't make it to Santa Barbara in time to fight the fire. Your men have already gotten your provisions to safety. Hopefully. What are you planning with the bike?”
Greyson studied him, no expression on his rugged face.
Jax waited him out. Either the soldier would decide to trust, or he wouldn't.
“Grey?” Moe asked. “What's going on?”
Greyson's expression didn't change, but his eyes softened to a lighter gray. He faltered and apparently couldn't keep silent with Maureen asking him. “The president has Damon,” he said, his voice low and hoarse. “I promised I'd come back for him, but first I had to get Barter here. To save you and the baby.”
Maureen breathed out, her eyebrows lifting. “Is Damon okay?”
Grey's mouth tightened. “No. But he will be.”
Ah, shit. The president was nuts. Finding Damon still alive was a long shot. But he was leverage, so at least there was hope. Jax thought through the issue. Greyson didn't stand a chance by himself, and all of his men had gone back to Merc territory. “What did the president want?” he asked.
Grey focused back on him. “He wanted the schematics of the interior of this other Bunker in Reno. Weaknesses, strengths, locations of everything.”
Jax straightened. “Did you give them to him?”
“No,” Grey murmured. “I’m hoping to bargain for Damon.”
Jax nodded. No way would the president let either Grey or Damon live. “All right. You can have a bike.”
Greyson nodded and pushed Barter toward him. “Any chance I could borrow a sniper rifle also?”
* * *
Maureen found Greyson on the roof, staring out at the huge cloud of smoke to the northwest. It was orange and dirty and frightening. He stood, legs braced, head up, shoulders stiff. She swallowed and moved across the gravel toward him, giving in to temptation and sliding her arms around his waist.
He shuddered.
She rested her cheek against his broad back, her heart hurting for him. “Jax said the garage door will be fixed in about fifteen minutes,” she murmured.
Greyson turned and held her, his chin dropping to the top of her head. “I can't believe you sabotaged the door.” Amusement darkened his tone.
She leaned back and looked up, wrinkling her nose. “They didn't give me much choice.” There were so many words she wanted to say—needed to say—but she couldn't put them in any order that made sense. “They were going to attack your territory, to take your medicine. I had to stop them.” Her voice lowered to a hush. “Don't hate them. Please.” Especially Raze. She wanted Greyson and Raze to like each other somehow.
Greyson smiled, the curve of his lips somehow gentle. “I don't hate them. It's exactly what I would've done.” His grinned widened. “Thank you for protecting the Mercs.”
That smile entranced her. She blinked. “I tried, but they're not protected.” She looked around him at the terrifying sky. Her chest ached. “The fire. I'm so sorry, Greyson.”
He ran his huge hand down her back, his gaze stark. “So long as the men are safe, that's okay. The smoke is bad, but it doesn't mean the fire has reached all the way to the beach homes. There's a chance the guys were able to halt it. Somehow.”
It was impossible to tell from Century City. “Do you think Damon is okay?” She whispered.
“Yes.” Grey's jaw hardened. “He's tough as they come, and he has to be all right. He'll hold on until I can get back to him.”
Yet Grey had brought Zach Barter to the Bunker first. At least a seven-hour drive, and now another long drive north to the president's compound. Grey had chosen her and the baby. “Be careful,” she said quietly. She couldn't lose him now.
He frowned. “You understand why I have to go, right? Damon is hurt. Bad. I wouldn't leave you, wouldn't leave the baby, if—”
“I understand,” she said softly, pressing her hand against his heart. “It's Damon, and he's your brother. I'd go if my brother needed me. In a second.”
Grey's brow smoothed out. “Thank you. For getting it. For getting me.”
Fear tasted like acid in her mouth, dread that she'd never see him again, but she forced a smile. “Of course. When you bring him back, we'll baby him. Drive him crazy with meddling and ice-cream.” In fact, there were some single techs at the Bunker who'd probably love a tough guy like Damon. “No matter what state he's in, we'll heal him.”
Grey watched her. “I never even dreamed of you.” He ran his thumb across her lips. “You're too good to be true. Sweet and smart…spirited. Dangerous.”
His touch sensitized her mouth. Her entire body. “Greyson,” she murmured.
He watched his thumb caress down her jawline. “For so long, I didn't trust women. After my mom abandoned me,” he murmured as if lost in his own thoughts. “Then the foster homes weren't great sometimes. Finally, Miss Julian, she helped. But I thought—”
“What? What did you think?” Maureen asked, breathless.
“That she was an anomaly. Almost not real. I never thought I'd find…you.”
The sweet words nearly took her to her knees. “I'm glad we found each other,” she whispered, her chest expanding. Her eyes filling. Her father and then her brother were strong men. She'd thought she wanted something else for herself, but she'd been wrong. This was what she wanted. Grey. A deadly, strong, protective, wild man just for her.
“Miss Julian gave me a foundation, but I was still damaged. Even when I found brothers in the military.” Greyson captured Moe's chin between his thumb and forefinger. “With you, I feel whole. Like there's hope somehow. I forgot that it even existed. In the apocalypse, you gave me hope.”
She blinked, emotion swamping her. The clock was counting down. Grey would be leaving in just a few minutes. What if he couldn't get Damon out? He'd give his life trying to save his friend, and that was one of the reasons she cared for him so deeply. She couldn't ask him to be any other way. But they hadn't had enough time together. Not even close. “I have to know. What's your middle name, your favorite color, your favorite ice cream, and your favorite movie?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
Small things, really. But ones she'd know if they had more time together. “Please.” Suddenly she wanted to know everything about him.
His jaw finally relaxed. A little. “Henry, black, strawberry, and Shawshank Redemption.”
“Strawberry?” she said, amusement tickling her.
His brows drew down. “Yeah. What's wrong with strawberry?” he asked in a mock growl.
She chuckled. “It's just so, well, boring.”
He twisted a hand in her hair, drawing her head back. “Boring?” Then he kissed her. Slow and sensual, he took her mouth, taking possession. Claiming her.
Her legs went boneless. Pleasure splintered through her, stealing her breath. His scent filled her nose with a combination of aged oak and wild male. She knew his taste, mint and man, and she reveled in it. She wanted more of it.
She caressed him and felt the powerful shift of his muscles through his shirt, needing to memorize every hard inch.
He tilted her head back, stroking her ja
w, demanding she open for him.
She opened her mouth, inviting him to take what he wanted. What she needed. He slid his tongue into her mouth, possession in every stroke. His touch filled her, but it wasn't enough. Not even close.
He made a sound in his chest, a sound just for her. She had that power over him. The heady knowledge went to her head, and she kissed him back, pouring every ounce of feeling she had into it. He was going into battle, and he needed to know he had a reason to come back. Motivation to fight with everything he had.
Finally, he drew away with a shudder. “Maureen,” he murmured, the sound reverent.
She took a deep breath, trying to get her body under control. Those gray eyes of his would stay in her mind forever. He'd stay in her heart for eternity. “I love you,” she said, meeting his gaze. In case he didn't make it back, she had to say the words. “I, ah, know it's fast. Really quick. But I wanted to tell you. So you knew.” God, she had to stop talking.
He stared at her, those odd eyes darkening even more. His chest moved. “I've never loved a woman like I do you. Like this. Like you're everything and you're inside me somehow.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “I'd do anything for you, Maureen.”
“I know,” she said, giving her trust. Look what he'd already done by bringing Zach Barter to the Bunker. For her and the baby. His words sank in deep and took hold. Greyson Storm, the deadliest man she'd ever met, the most dangerous, had just said he loved her. Even more, she felt it. Warm and strong and real. His love.
The rooftop door opened, and Raze poked his head out. “The garage door is fixed. Finally.”
Greyson released her and stepped back, instantly chilling her. “I have to go, sweetheart.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I've never had so much to lose before, Miss J. Isn't that when you usually lose it all?
—Greyson Storm, Journal after Scorpius
Greyson checked out the bike in the Bunker garage, making sure it was fully charged. Good. He had three guns and four knives on his body, and he really needed a sniper rifle. Jax had said he could borrow one, but he had to get going.